interLUDE: Maximals at Play
by THE Xenomorph
Summary: COMPLETE The Maximals have some fun in their new world. Part of the SplicedVerse series, based on Red Witch's Misfits. Category change to keep within the slected multiverse. All forms aof reviews are welcome, no flaming.
1. Island Charter

**interLUDE**

**By THE Xenomorph (aka Xenomorph666)**

**Disclaimer: I own only Perfection and Wraith.**

**DigitalMan and K2** **is © My close friend.**

**Everything else is copyrighted to their correct owner.**

**Universe: Spliced-Verse (Misfit-Verse, Evil Dead, Mask, TMNT Planeteers, Beast Wars, Jurassic** **Park)**

**AN: This takes place in an Alternate Universe to Red Witch's "Misfit-Verse", if you are interested in my little off shoot of the Misfit-Verse Red Witch's stories are in the X-Men Evoliution section. **

_**Island Charter**_

"Dinobot, Silverbolt." Optimus Primal spoke into the bases' com system.

"You called Optimus?" Dinobot asked when he came in, Silverbolt soon followed.

"Yes, I have a mission for you two." Optimus smiled. "The Scions are back with the others from Isla Sorna and I need you two to go in on a low-key scouting mission to see if any protoforms were planted there."

"Of course Optimus." Silverbolt said. "And if we find any?"

"Normally I'd say to activate them, but there's a sentient species of raptor on the island and I wouldn't feel right about accidentally scanning one." Optimus said.

"A sentient raptor species…" Dinobot smiled. "This trip could be most interesting."

"Don't bother Dinobot, they're extremely xenophobic and will most likely attack you on sight, so try not to be seen." Optimus ordered.

"A pity, but understood." Dinobot sighed. "Will any others be joining us?"

"I was thinking about sending Waspinator, but it's up to you two." Optimus said.

"I have no objections." Dinobot hissed.

"I for one would welcome Waspinator's company." Silverbolt smiled.

"Oh goody!" Waspinator came out from behind a console. "Wazpinator's first mission as Maximal! Wazpinator not let doggy-bot or hero-bot down!"

"Just try to remain quite on the island." Dinobot snorted.

"Ok." Waspinator saluted. "Beast-Mode!"

"Will we be using DM's warp point technology?" Silverbolt asked.

"Yes, I've punched in the coordinates; the warp point is reserved at the western satellite dish." Optimus said. "You three be careful and good luck."

"We shall and tell my lady I shall return!" Silverbolt gave a grand sweeping bow as Optimus pressed a button that played an Old English fan fare.

"How appropriate." Dinobot smiled. "Maximize!" Dinobot changed to his vehicle form and the three left.

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A small point over Isla Sorna rippled and shook and suddenly a vertical tear in reality opened up. When it opened to about the size of a small boat three flying forms came out.

"Wazpinator really like Warp Point Technology." Waspinator buzzed happily.

"Indeed, it is especially useful given that the Mass Device has that rather unpleasant side affect." Silverbolt shuddered.

"Hehehehe…" Dinobot chuckled "I thought it was entertaining to see the Vermin in such a peculiar assembly."

"Yes, entertaining, but thoroughly disturbing as well." Silverbolt said. "I think I see a small dirt patch on in that forest we can land at."

"No." Dinobot said. "We need an open area for me to land."

"Hmmm." Waspinator thought. "Beach?" Just then two large tyrannosaurs walked onto the beach. "Wazpinator take that back."

"There!" Dinobot indicated an open plain with a nod of his head.

"All right then." Silverbolt smiled. "Let us land then."

As the three descended to the plains below they took notice of the life forms around them and were in awe.

"Amazing." Silverbolt gasped as he transformed silently. "What majestic and beautiful creatures."

"Wazpinator like the small ones." Waspiantor sighed. "Small ones not hurt as much."

"Have you forgotten my clone already?" Dinobot chuckled as he took his normal beast form.

"Ohhh…" Waspinator shuddered. "Wazpinator not ever want to see him again."

"It's gone." Dinobot said with a smile. "All that remains are our memories of it."

"We should start searching somewhere to the west." Silverbolt said.

"Why?" Dinobot asked.

"Because there's an active volcano that direction and if one is there we might not have enough time to save it if we go there last." Silverbolt said.

"Very well Silverbolt, but first we should stop being prey." Dinobot twitched his neck backwards.

"Where?" Silverbolt peered into the forest's edge.

"They're there, regular raptors, probably just curious, but still deadly." Dinobot said. "Try to keep aware of your surroundings, don't wander off."

"Yes…" Silverbolt said as he cautiously looked around and followed Dinobot.

"Mmmm…" Waspinator chattered nervously. "fleshy-hero-bot's not nice."

As the three made their way through the plain and then the forest they were cautiously enjoying themselves as they noted all the different forms of flora and fauna. Dinobot even managed to relax a little when he noted they were no longer being followed. Then they reached the volcano and their sensors went berserk.

"PREDACONS!" Silverbolt gasped. "They must have gotten here earlier."

"No doubt they've located a protoforms!" Dinobot snapped. "Let us go relive them of it."

"Yes, lets." Silverbolt smirked.

"Wazpinator hang back here." Waspinator shrunk back.

"No, stay close, but only engage if you feel up to it." Dinobot said, "Come, let us save a new ally!"

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"Tarantulus, hurry up with that programming." Megatron snapped.

"I'm going as fast as I can Megatron!" Tarantulus snapped. "And I can't go much faster, unless you want it to end up like the ant!"

Megatron stopped and shuddered. "Take your time then, one is enough."

"Megatron!" Terrorsoar shouted. "Maximals are charging us!"

"What?" Megatron clutched his hand into a fist in anger. "How many?"

"Three!" Terrorsoar said with a smile. "Waspinator, Dinobot and that annoyingly charismatic fuzor."

"Tohka, Rahzar!" Megatron shouted, "Take care of them! Tarantulus, how is the programming coming along?"

"Almost there Megatron, I'm just putting the Transmetal 2 chip in as we speak." Tarantulus cackled.

"Excellent, soon we will have one more ally in out battle against the Maximals and their human allies."

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"Quickly!" Dinobot shouted. "Terrorsaur spotted us; they'll be sending units to head us off!"

"Already happened!" A large form crashed into Dinobot and slammed him into the ground. "Rahzar gonna break you in two! You not hurt Mama!"

"'Mama'?" Waspinator asked as he cocked his head. "Megatron gots kids now?"

"Mama not be hurt! Tohka make you break!" A large robotic snapping turtle charged into Silverbolt.

Tohk and Rahzar then started to stalk after their downed targets.

"Hey!" Waspinator shouted. "Doggybot and Hero-Bot not hurt you!"

The two powerful Predacons stopped their stalking and turned to Waspinator with evil grins.

"Oh Wazpinator need to keep mandibles shut." Waspinator groaned as Rahzar grabbed Waspinator's head in his giant hand.

"We break you first…" Tohka grabbed Waspinator's legs. "Little bug go squish!"

"Not today, you mutated miscreants!" Silverbolt had pulled himself up and was holding two of his wing missiles. "Now tell me, do you feel lucky?"

"Huh?" Tohka scratched his head momentarily, which gave Silverbolt enough time to launch his double missile attack and blow the two powerhouses off of his ally. Unfortunately Waspinator was sent sailing into a tree.

"Waspinator are you hurt?" Silverbolt ran to his friend.

"Wazpinator ok." Waspinator shook his head. "Doggy-bot save Wazpinator, so Wazpinator is ok."

"That's good to hear; now perhaps we should take care of them." Silverbolt nodded to the recovering Tohka and Rahzar.

"Ok!" Waspinator pulled out his stinger gun and hopped to his feet.

"Take care of them!" Dinobot shouted. "I will defend the protoform!"

"Hurry up!" Silverbolt shouted as he tossed two more missiles at Tohka.

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"Megatron!" Dinobot launched himself onto the ledge where Megatron, Terrorsaur and Tarantulus were standing in front of a protoform.

"I'm afraid you're to late Dinobot." Megatron cackled as he tossed out the dead body of a raptor, then they stepped aside to reveal a starling mirror image of Dinobot's clone. "It's really quite ironic really, we just wanted our own raptor and here it looks almost identical to your clone."

"Allow me to introduce to you; Rapticon." Tarantulus cackled. "I hope you two can play nice."

"Rapticon…" Dinobot hissed. "Are you a warrior, or a monster?"

"I think…" Rapticon's voice was similar to that of "Agent Smith" from _The Matrix, _but it was twisted with a serpentine edge; nothing like Dinobot's. "I shall find out."

"Then we shall battle." Dinobot grasped the katana at his side as Silverbolt and Waspinator came running up the ridge.

"NO!" Silverbolt gasped when he saw Rapticon. "NOT AGAIN!" He growled in anger. "You won't TWIST OUR FRIEND!"

"Calm yourself." Dinobot said. "He is no clone, but he is a foe."

"Oh…" Waspinator shrunk back to hide behind Silverbolt.

"Do not interfere." Dinobot said coldly.

"Megatron." Rapticon said. "The same goes for you. I want to destroy him myself."

"Very well, Predacons, stand down." Megatron ordered.


	2. Duel at High 11 O’clock

**interLUDE**

**By THEXenomorph**

**Disclaimer: I own only Perfection and Wraith.**

**DigitalMan and K2** **are © My close friend.**

**Everything else is copyrighted to their correct owner.**

**Universe: Spliced-Verse (Misfit-Verse, Evil Dead, Mask TMNT Planeteers, Beast Wars, Jurassic** **Park)**

**_Duel at High 11 O'clock_**

"I shall rend you to pieces and feast upon your tattered remains!" Rapticon shouted as he charged the statuesquely still Dinobot.

"You shall have no such pleasure." Dinobot drew his katana expertly at the single moment before Rapticon's claws struck; metal met metal and sparks flew as Dinobot used the leverage to toss the young Predacon to the side.

"We shall see!" Rapticon shouted as he flipped to his feet and charged Dinobot once more.

Again the weathered warrior deflected the younger's attack with ease. "I see only a foolish and untrained spark, not a warrior."

"Then I guess I am no warrior…" Rapticon enunciated with his back to Dinobot. "Perhaps then I am a _killer_!" At the last word Rapticon launched himself at Dinobot, wildly waving his claws back and forth. Dinobot guarded once more, but could not counterattack the swift and powerful blows.

"Agreed, you are no warrior!" Dinobot said as he quickly brought his blade to a horizontal stance and caught Rapticon's claws. "A warrior would know when to control his or her emotions." Dinobot then drew the sword from the lock like he would draw it from its sheath. The result was Rapticon's claws sailing in the air to rest at Megatron's feet.

"AGGAAAAHHHHHH!" Rapticon screamed in pain as he clutched his hands to his chest and fell to the ground where he crawled towards Megatron.

"All right Hero-Bot!" Waspinator cheered. "Wazpinator knew you could beat cheap lizzy-bot."

"Excellent show Dinobot!" Silverbolt ran to his comrade's side. "Now let us finish this."

"I think not." Megatron frowned as he leveled his dragon's head at the Maximals.

"Oh, I forgot about him." Silverbolt's face fell.

"Run." Dinobot said in a quiet hiss. "FAST!"

The Maximals all ran or flew at their fastest pace towards the rendezvous for the return Warp Point. When Dinobot got to the field though he quickly transformed into his vehicle form and made for the sky.

"NAGH!" Rapticon growled as he tried to grasp his broken claws.

"Tarantulus, help Rapticon recover from his first and hopefully last failure. I must recover Tohka and Rahzar." Megatron glared down at his newest subordinate.

"Boy, I would not want to be you." Terrorsoar cackled.

"Shut up and help me!" Rapticon growled. "And I'll rip your face off!"

"I think you mean 'Or I'll rip your face off.'" Tarantulus corrected Rapticon.

"_And_." Rapticon glared at the spider.

"Oh, he'll fit in just perfectly." Terrorsoar rolled his eyes.

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**A** few hours later Dinobot, Silverbolt and Waspinator were finishing up their debriefing with Optimus. No one was ultimately pleased with the outcome of the island expedition.

"Only one protoform and the Predacons got it." Optimus sighed.

"And worse yet, it is a mimic of my clone's appearance and power." Dinobot let a low, dissatisfied growl escape. "And the battle only showed his personality to be near identical."

"But ya won." Rattrap said as he typed away at a console not to far away.

"I won our first encounter, but only because he was not a trained warrior and now I fear he may focus all too intently on becoming something other than that." Dinobot growled again.

"Even worse; Megatron can now freely adapt protoforms to be either fuzor or Transmetal 2." Silverbolt sighed.

"At least they not have fleshy-bot-bot." Waspinator said.

"I wonder why that is?" Optimus said.

"Perhaps the mutant DNA won't scan properly." Rhinox said as he walked in. "Or maybe because he actually has some one he can share his ego trips with."

"I bet it's the second one." Rattrap said, when no one said anything he looked confused. "What, no 'Shut up Rattrap?'"

"Actually I think that's probably the case." Optimus blinked.

"Megatron has a friend?" Silverbolt asked in confusion.

"I think I'm to be ill." Dinobot sighed.

"Wazpinator think that sound right. Magneto very friendly with Megatron when Wazpinator left, Megatron was same way." Waspinator said.

"Well then I guess we'll just have to step up the search for any new Protoforms." Optimus sighed. "Which means we will also have to take away from the protection of our friends."

"To be fair Optimus, the only ones who need the protection are the Planeteers." Dinobot said. "You'd have to be a fool or a lunatic to attack the others."

"You know I hate to say it, but Choppaface has a point." Rattrap said. "Those kids could level half-a Cybertron in two hours."

"Be that as it may, they are still vulnerable to Predacon weaponry…" Optimus was interrupted.

"Optimus they are children, we all know this, but these children are fast approaching the time when their lives will become a war zone, and a much as it pains me to say it, hiding them from that war zone will only hurt them in the long run." Dinobot said. "They can handle themselves and I believe they would understand the importance of finding the protoforms before Megatron does."

"I know." Optimus sighed. "I just wish we could push that time back so they can grow up first."

"We all do Optimus." Rhinox said with a heavy sigh. "But Dinobot has a point. We've got our priorities in a little bit of a fix."

"Then..." Optimus sighed. "Recall everyone. I'll explain our situation to others."

"I shall join you." Dinobot said solemnly. "If only to say my own goodbyes for such a time."

"I'm leaving now Dinobot." Optimus said. "First stop is the Pit."

"Very well, lead on." Dinobot said in his usual detached manner.

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"**B**elieve me Optimus, I completely understand." General Hawk of the G.I. Joe said as the two made their way around the bunkers of the Pit.

"Thank you for understanding General Hawk." Optimus smiled. "I just wish we could keep everyone safe and find the protoforms.

"I do to…" Hawk laughed. "It's not everyday COBRA just up and flees because they've angered a nasty robotic raptor."

"AHHHHHHH!" Stanley dashed in front of Hawk and Optimus, Stanley's head was on fire for the fourth time that day.

"I swear that kid goes through more Ritalin than the entire population and it still does nothing!" Hawk said with an exasperated sigh.

"Well at least it's not one of those so called 'Great Debates' I've heard so much about." Optimus smiled.

"You know I still can't believe you haven't had one yet." Hawk smiled.

"Well I guess we've just been lucky." Optimus said as Althea and Todd came running after Stanley with a fire extinguisher.

"STOP DROP AND ROLL!" Hawk shouted.

"I AM!" Stanley shouted back.

"Ugh…" Hawk groaned. "He's headed for the ammo stores…" A few seconds later a small bunker exploded and pieces of Stanley's body landed in a comical pile next to Hawk.

"I think I hurt myself…" Stanley's soot covered head coughed a smoke ring.

"I'm sorry Optimus, I'd love to talk some more, but I think there's going to be a lot of potato peeling today…" Hawk sighed.

"Well then my friend we shall talk soon." Optimus said with a smile as he left to find Dinobot.

As fate would have it though, Dinobot found him not shortly after that incident and he was covered in pink paint and had a blonde curly wig on his head.

"Not one word Optimus, not one word…" Dinobot growled.

"Triplets?" Optimus asked as the two took their vehicle forms.

"And Spyder." Dinobot growled.

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"**T**hank you for understanding." Optimus smiled as he hid behind Xavier's mansion, safe from the prying public. "I just wish we could…"

Xavier raised his hand, "Optimus, you must do what is in your people's best interest, and though I will regret having a few less helpful hands around, I do thank you for your assistance, especially you Dinobot."

"Me?" Dinobot looked confused as he stood next to Optimus.

"Yes, you've helped Rina out quite a lot." Xavier smiled. "Your practice sessions with her and Logan are beginning to shine through. She's even stopped trying to kill Bobby for every last joke he makes."

"Are you sure that's my influence?" Dinobot asked.

"Well, actually I attribute that to everyone else getting revenge for her." Xavier sighed as a window blew out on the third floor. "Forge's lab?"

"No, Kurt's room." Optimus said. "There's a lot of foam…"

"Oh lovely…" Xavier sighed. "Well, if you'll excuse me I must make certain no one was injured or will be injured."

"Perhaps you should institute a reason for good behavior." Dinobot said as he gazed at the window. "Merits and demerits or some such rules."

"Dinobot, I don't want the children to behave because of some sort of academic contest, I want them to behave because they have respect for their home." Xavier explained.

"You expect this of your students?" Dinobot blinked in confusion. "Have you been drinking earlier than usual today?"

"No." Xavier was offended, but finally admitted. "Well, maybe a little."

"I think we should leave now…" Optimus tugged on Dinobot's shoulder.

Dinobot looked up to see a giant aluminum mushroom growing in the kitchen; it was already breaking through the window.

"DUCK AND COVER KITTY'S COOKED STOVE TOP POPCORN!" Roberto called from within the mansion. A second later the kitchen had a new patio exit minus the patio it previously had.

"Maybe I've been looking at this the wrong way." Dinobot said. "I should be thinking of this search as a vacation from the lunacy of the other students!"

"I think you may be right…" Optimus winced as the oven in the kitchen exploded and sent a strange orange gunk all over the place. "We should go…"

"Going…" Dinobot said as he transformed into his vehicle form once more.

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"**T**hank you for understanding." Optimus smiled on the view screen as Splinter smiled and disconnected.

"Well, that means we're all gonna be searching for the remaining protoforms, huh?" Rattrap asked.

"Yes, and from what the Joes have supplied us with…" Optimus punched up a satellite read out onto the holo-viewer. "There are only three protoforms remaining with in physical reach."

"'With in physical reach'?" Black Arachnia asked.

"To put it bluntly, the others are buried under so much of the earth's crust, with so much pressure and so many dangers lying around them that even risking a dig for them would be suicide." Optimus said.

"What about Fish-Bowl-boy?" Rattrap asked, using one of his nicknames for Lance Alvers of the Misfits.

"He's still struggling with forming the earth into forms out of conscious desire." Rhinox said.

"So we're just going after these three?" Silverbolt asked.

"Yes, and we have to act fast, security information on the satellite was compromised a few days before the Scion's trip to Isla Sorna." Optimus frowned.

"So how do we split up?" Cheetor asked.

"Well the good news is that one of them is with in running distance." Optimus smiled. "Cheetor, you and Tigatron are going to these coordinates and you are going to dig as fast and as carefully as possible."

"All right, no problem Big-Bot." Cheetor smiled. "You ready Big-Cat?"

"Of course Cheetor." Tigatron smiled as he handed his son to Airazor.

"Silverbolt, you and Waspinator are coming with me to the Congo; we need to be careful with that one too." Optimus said.

"Which leaves…" Rattrap looked around the room. "Me, Legs, Choppaface, Wings, Rhinox and the Tin-Tuna, if he shows up soon."

"Actually it leaves you, Dinobot and Black Arachnia to get the fourth." Optimus said. "And you three need to be extra careful, it's already been compromised by the weather and location."

"Let me guess; Antarctica?" Black Arachnia cracked.

"Close." Optimus said. "High on Mount Everest and the Joes recent scans show that's where Release has been staying."

"Oh this just gets better and better." Rattrap sighed.

"Rat-bot should be shutting up." Waspinator said.

"Hey, you can't say that!" Rattrap shouted.

"Why not? Wazpinator is Maximal now and it the truth." Waspinator crossed his arms indignantly. "Rat-bot talk too much."

Rattrap, for once, was left entirely speechless.


	3. Failure

**interLUDE**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**Disclaimer: I own only Perfection and Wraith.**

**DigitalMan and K2** **are © My close friend.**

**Everything else is copyrighted to their correct owner.**

**Universe: Spliced-Verse (Misfit-Verse, Evil Dead, Mask TMNT Planeteers, Beast Wars, Jurassic** **Park)**

_**Failure**_

Rampage was furious. He was more than furious, he was absolutely livid, he wanted Megatron's head on a steel pike, but he couldn't risk the madman still possessing his half-spark. It burned him inside, oh how it burned him. And so he found himself in the vast American desert grumbling, while on patrol.

"Feeling like blowing up building are you?" A voice called from behind him. Rampage spun to see a pale human with black face make-up and flowing black robes. "I can give you the half-spark you so desire." The human twisted his hands and the half-spark appeared in t the human's hands.

"Give it to me!" Rampage leapt at his precious spark.

The human vanished as Rampage landed, and reappeared behind him as he got t his feet. The human wagged his finger admonishingly. "You shouldn't play so rough…"

"I want my spark!" Rampage hissed in anger.

"And I will give it to you in a sense, but it won't be for free." The human smiled.

"What do you mean?" Rampage asked.

"I made a deal with Megatron for the return of two sparks, and I feel he will try to break from our agreement. I want you to make sure he doesn't." The human smiled.

"And then I'll get my spark back." Rampage said.

"No, you'll have to choose if you want this half of a Spark in you or someone you truly cared for." The human smiled evilly.

"Explain your meaning." Rampage said.

"I believe you called her Transmutate…" The human smiled at Rampage's recognition. "I have reconstituted her body in a nearby stasis pod and there your half of a spark waits with her whole. If you want the spark you will have to kill her to get it."

"What else?" Rampage growled.

"If you retrieve her or your spark, I will take it as a contract between us, if you successfully keep your end I will give you your whole spark, if you betray me you loose her and your spark goes into his hands once more." The being smiled as black tendrils began to envelop it.

Rampage thought it over for a few seconds. He knew what would happen if he betrayed Megatron in such a way and then betrayed this human, or whatever it was, but he missed Transmutate. "She was the only one who could ever have hoped to understand me." He looked the being in the eyes. "Where is the stasis pod?"

"Excellent." The being gave a wicked smile. "Keep in mind I want you to play nice with Megatron until I say so and then you can have your spark."

Suddenly Rampage's sensors lit up as the world shifted around him. He soon found himself viewing a pair of Maximals digging into the earth. "So they wish to take my twisted mirror. I shall remedy this."

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"**W**hooo…" Cheetor sighed as he tossed his shovel to the ground. "I need a rest. This heat is just too brutal."

"I know Cheetor, but we must finish this." Tigatron said with a strange firmness.

"Hey, Big Cat, I've been meaning to ask you something." Cheetor picked his shovel up once more. "You haven't been calling me 'Little Cat' anymore. Did I do something?"

Tigatron stopped digging for a second and gave a small laugh. "You did actually."

"What did I do, whatever it is; I'm sorry." Cheetor said.

Tigatron laughed a little louder. "You grew up Cheetor, you're no Little Cat now, and you're a grown Cat, capable of making his own decisions and mistakes."

"Wow…" Cheetor scratched the back of his head. "Thanks."

"Not a problem." Tigatron smiled. "Now let's finish digging this hole…" Tigatron stopped and tapped his shovel down. "I think we found it."

"Excellent!" Cheetor jumped down into the hole and brushed the dirt on the pod away and then gave a sudden and sharp gasp. He knew the face before him; it wasn't a blank protoforms face, but that of a previously brought online protoform. Only now it was in the form of some delicate red flower.

"What is it Cheetor?" Tigatron asked.

"Transmutate…" Cheetor blinked as he pulled himself out of the hole. "It can't be; she was destroyed…"

"Who is Transmuate?" Tigatron asked.

"A faulty protoform. Big-Bot wanted to shut her down, but Silverbolt wouldn't let him. Then Rampage found her and tried to take her away. Silverbolt and Rampage fought over her and then she blew herself up." Cheetor said with a dizzied tone as he paced around.

"Why?" Tigatron asked, with Cheetor's back to him.

"Because she couldn't stand to see her friend's fighting." Cheetor said. "We have to get her back to base!"

"I think…" Rampage pressed his giant cannon to the back of Cheetor's head. "That we might have a conflict of interest."

"Oh no…" Cheetor groaned.

"Good night robo-kitty!" It was the last thing Cheetor heard before he woke up in the Maximal Med-Bay.

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"**Y**ou look like ten pound of slag in a five pound container." Rhinox smiled as Cheetor woke up. "Be glad Airazor came by to see how you guys were doing."

"How's Tigatron?" Cheetor groaned.

"Doing better now that he's out of the C.R. Chamber. You were in some bad shape though." Rhinox patted the young Maximal's shoulder.

"Rampage?" Cheetor asked.

"I'm afraid he got the Stasis Pod and the Protoform." Rhinox sighed.

"It was Transmutate." Cheetro said weakly. "She looked different though. Like a flower."

"What?" Rhinox asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Cheetor sat up. "How long have I been out any way?"

"About a day, maybe two." Rhinox said. "We got word from Optimus, they had some problems but they're bringing in the protoform."

"What about Dinobot's team?" Cheetor asked.

"No word from them." Rhinox sighed. "Which can be interpreted as good news; I hope."

"Great…" Cheetor groaned. "So what do we do?"

"Keep the guard." Rhinox smiled. "And don't let the Scions start talking about monkeys and pandas."

"What?" Cheetor asked.

"I don't know, Hawk and Xavier keep telling me to not let those words come up in discussions." Rhinox shrugged. "Anyway, you get some rest."

"Right…" Cheetor sighed as he lay back down and began to think of better times and opportunities.


	4. Retrieval

**interLUDE: Maximals at Play**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**Disclaimer: I own only Perfection and Wraith.**

**DigitalMan and K2** **are © My close friend.**

**Everything else is copyrighted to their correct owner.**

**Universe: Spliced-Verse (Misfit-Verse, Evil Dead, Mask TMNT Planeteers, Beast Wars, Jurassic** **Park)**

_**Retrieval**_

"Optimus!" Silverbolt gave a sudden and excited shout. "There, in the river!" Silverbolt pointed a claw at the flashing metal beneath the waves.

"Excellent work Silverbolt." Optimus said as he descended to the forest floor.

"Wazpinator not like this place…" Waspinator mumbled as he followed.

"Is something wrong Waspinator?" Silverbolt asked as the three landed.

"This place feel creepy, like island." Waspinator shook involuntarily.

"Hmmm…" Optimus scanned the area around them carefully. "Nothing showing up on sensors. Not even a Predacon."

"It still creepy." Waspinator sighed. "How we get stasis pod out of water though?"

"That is definitely a good question…" Optimus shrugged as he looked at the rapid waters. "It didn't look so fast from the air."

"Maybe we could lasso it?" Silverbolt grabbed a few vines.

"No, they'll snap before we get it ashore." Optimus said. "And stop watching those westerns for a bit."

"Ohhh…" Silverbolt looked horrible disappointed, "But I wanted to see the _Gunsmoke_ marathon…"

"Don't worry doggy-bot." Waspinator smiled. "Freddy has whole collection this big!" Waspinator stretched his arms wide.

"Thanks Waspinator, but it's just not the same as a marathon." Silverbolt sighed as he spotted a strangely shaped rock on the edge of the river. "Optimus, I have an idea."

A few minutes later the three Maximals were struggling to hold onto each other, while pulling the stasis pod in at the same time. Unfortunately they had the idea of a chain of persons slightly backwards as Waspinator was anchoring Silverbolt and Silverbolt was struggling to keep a hold of Optimus.

"Silverbolt…" Optimus grumbled as he pulled the stasis pod closer to him. "The next time we have to do anything remotely like this…" He pulled the pod a little more. "You are going to be the one at the end…" Again he pulled the pod a little closer.

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**S**corponk had to smile as he watched the Maximals pull the stasis pod onto the sandy shore and then he had to smile at Venus' little signal jamming trick. He was going to get the pod today and it was all because of the element of surprise.

"Can we slag'em now?" Quickstrike poked his head in next to Scorponok and the pure scorpion based robot only growled.

"Oh, let him go out there already, I don't care if he gets slagged." Venus snapped, her insect like head concealing her mysteriously beautiful robotic head.

"All right." Scorponok smiled. "Go get'em Quickstrike…"

"All right!" Quickstrike shouted as he charged out onto the shore.

"Two-HEAD!" Scorponok watched as Waspinator pulled out his own weapon and blew Quickstrike into a tree.

"He's gotten better." Scorponok growled. "I don't like that."

"Well then, lets make sure he doesn't get any better at any thing; ever." Venus smiled. "Venus Prediflora; TERRORIZE!"

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**A**t the shout of another Predacon's activation code the three Maximals circled up around the stasis pod. They were all ready to fight, but Waspinator's fear and worry were obvious.

"Don't panic Waspinator." Silverbolt said calmly. "You're a Maximal now; we help each other and fight together as one."

"Wazpinator is afraid of Three-Head." Waspinator shook. "She eats bugs…"

"Oh, well then I guess I can understand that fear." Silverbolt shrugged as they all scanned the forest around them.

"There's another one. Scorponk I think." Optimus said.

"What makes you say that?" Silverbolt asked.

"Large scorpion tail." Optimus said.

"Which means Hero-Bot will have to fight Megatron!" Waspinator shrieked.

"I don't think so…" Silverbolt said. "Megatron wouldn't risk getting close to Release with out testing the waters first."

A sudden series of shots from in front of the group gave away Scorponok as his rockets tore through the foliage and struck Optimus squarely in the chest. Waspinator and Silverbolt both retaliated with their own attacks. Silverbolt's missiles caught Scorponok dead on in the chest and arms while Waspinator's shot pierced the Predacon Commander's skull with a delayed explosion.

"Good shot Waspinator!" Silverbolt clapped a hand against his comrade's back.

"Awww, Wazpintor just lucky." Waspinator gave a slight shrug before a sickly green beam struck him in the chest and then split off to hit Optimus and Silverbolt.

"You are all so very pathetic." Venus growled as he came out. Her flytrap hands clamping open and closed.

"Cyber-venom?" Silverbolt blinked weakly.

"Sort of." Venus smiled. "It's an acidic compound based off of the digestive juices of the flytrap, it's very potent and best of all it continues to eat away at the target's armor…"

"OWWWWW!" Waspinator shrieked as his chest armor started to melt.

"More so for bugs than anything else…" Venus walked over to Waspinator. "You look so… delectable…"

"AHHHH!" Waspinator shrieked in complete terror.

"Leave him alone you vile witch!" Silverbolt grunted. "He's done nothing to you…"

"Maybe…" Venus grabbed Silverbolt by his chest arm and began to crush it. "But it's fun to make him squirm…"

"Ohhh…" Quickstrike got to his feet. "OH! Salsa-bot, you got'em!"

"Ugh…" Venus growled. "What I wouldn't have given for him to have been permanently slagged…"

"Looks like I git ta slag the big ape Optimus!" Quickstriek said in his usual hyperactive tone. "I do git ta slag'im don't I?"

"You know Quickstrike…" Optimus grunted. "You really need to be quite."

"And why's that?" Quickstrike growled.

"You're making the fish angry." Optimus smiled as Quickstrike turned just in time to see a yellow light before he was knocked to the other side of the shore.

"Wow…" Depth Charge blinked as he walked out of the forest. "I didn't think you saw me."

"ANOTHER ONE!" Venus shrieked. "What do you travel in caravans now?"

"No, just thought I'd lend a little helping hand." Depth Charge smiled as he leveled his main weapon at Venus. "You know what this is? It's a dual quantum missile launcher, the single most powerful handheld missile launcher Cybertronian's can hope for. It'd blow your head and every other sickening twisted part attached to your spark to the pit and then some. So you have to ask yourself; do you feel lucky? Well do you? Punk."

"What the heck?" Venus spat in anger right before two of the missiles blew her deep into the jungle.

"Guess she doesn't." Depth Charge chuckled.

"You've been watching to much _Dirty Harry._" Optimus grumbled.

"At least I ain't been watching those stupid spy shows you got." Depth Charge said as he pulled repair kit out and began to work on Waspinator's armor. "Don't worry buggy, I'll get you operational in no time."

"Three head gone?" Waspinator asked, his hands were covering his face.

"Yup, she should be somewhere upriver about now." Depth Charge smiled.

After a few hours of rest and repair the four Maximals all took a deep sigh of relief as they attached several cords to the Stasis Pod and began the long flight back home. Unfortunately when they contacted the base Optimus learned of the loss of the first Stasis Pod.

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**A **day and a half later they landed in front of their base where an odd creature was resting. It wasn't so odd as to be an alien or a mutant, but it was odd that it was not in its natural habitat in Asia.

"Oh no…" Optimus groaned as the doors to the base opened. He completely expected the base to be covered in bits and flecks of food from one of the Scion's "Great Debates," instead he was greeted by Dinobot and Rattrap who were both shaking their heads in defeat.

"You succeeded!" Silverbolt exclaimed as he realized what the giant Panda in front of him was in reality.

"I wouldn't call it success…" Dinobot grumbled. "Success implies that the mission was worth the effort."

"Where's Black Arachnia?" Optimus asked.

"Restrained." Rattrap smiled.

"Why?" Optimus asked.

"Let's just say we know how ta choose'em." Rattrap smiled.

"I take it this is a long story." Optimus gave an intrigued smiled.

"Let's just say if another one shows up near Release, I'd rather have the honor of drowning myself in the nearest toxic refinery." Dinobot growled.

"Awww…" The Panda transformed into a tall fem-bot obviously built for combat. "Is Dinobot angry that a fem beat him to the punch?"

"No, Dinobot is angry because your actions nearly got us all slagged along with an entire village!" Dinobot snapped.

"Optimus meet Pandora. Pandora, meet the Boss-Monkey." Rattrap cracked.

Pandora suddenly snapped to attention. "Pandora Mamus reporting for Combat Duty; SIR!"

"I suddenly feel very uncomfortable…" Silverbolt said as the panda continued to hold her salute.

"Don't worry Bird-Dog, she ain't like you. Well sort of like you." Rattrap giggled.

"Explain yourself vermin…" Silverbolt glared.

"Trust me, Silverbolt, you don't want to know." Dinobot grumbled.

"Oh, so this is the wonderful Silverbolt. Look like I got my work cut out for me if I'm going to break those two up." Pandora smiled.

"Excuse me, but I have chosen Black Arachnia as she has chosen me; I have no interest in other women." Silverbolt folded his wing in front of him like a shield.

"Now who said I was after you?" Pandora gave a wicked grin.

"Wha?" Silverbolt looked confused as he thought for a second.

"You know when it hits him I'm going to sell the picture on EBay…" Rattrap laughed as Silverbolt's face warped to a look of absolute horror. "Here it comes…"

"SHE IS MY DARK PASSION!" Silverbolt leapt back and armed his missiles and pointed them at Pandora.

"By Primus, we just had to have another twisted love triangle didn't we?" Optimus groaned.

"So Spider-bot not like bear-bot?" Waspinator asked in confusion as Cheetor came running out of the base, chased by an irate Black Arachnia. The entire group stopped and stared.

"Start talking Dinobot." Optimus said. "I need to hear all of this…"

"I am so glad you didn't say 'want'." Dinobot groaned.

"And after this we never speak of these events ever again." Optimus said.

"Oh, but the Triplets would love this stuff…" Rattrap groaned.


	5. Pandora Today

**interLUDE**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**Disclaimer: I own only Perfection and Wraith.**

**DigitalMan and K2** **are © My close friend.**

**Everything else is copyrighted to their correct owner.**

**Universe: Spliced-Verse (Misfit-Verse, Evil Dead, Mask TMNT Planeteers, Beast Wars, Jurassic** **Park)**

_**Pandora Today**_

"Start from the beginning." Optimus said as he hefted the pod and took it into the base. Rattrap and Dinobot followed.

"It's like this…" Rattrap started.

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"**Y**ou know this ain't half bad." Rattrap snapped she he trailed behind Black Arachnia. "It's a nice quite place for us to get out part recycled. I like that."

"Black Arachnia, will you please quite the Vermin?" Dinobot asked the female spider-bot from above. He had been dealing with Rattrap's constant stream of "We're all gonna die's" ever since they left their base and the words were beginning to drive the former Predacon into a killing frenzy.

"Oh believe me, I've tried that, but he always avoids the rocks." Black Arachnia shook her head in disgust as she too was beginning to tire of Rattrap's pessimism.

"You know what you're problem is Choppaface…" Rattrap started to defend himself.

"I have a loud annoying rat following me." Dinobot quipped masterfully in the usual way he argued with Rattrap.

"Noooo." Rattrap glared at his friend. "One you got no style; two, you're way to positive and well you smell like a lizard."

Dinobot groaned in combination of defeat and anger as he helped Black Arachnia over the ledge he was on and soon after pulled Rattrap onto it as well. The three Maximals then took in their surroundings. They were high on Mount Everest and the environment showed it, the sides of the mountain were almost sheer rock and ice with little room to move except were large chunks had been seemingly ripped out recently. The heavy snow in the region also made it difficult to see things which made Rattrap's constant talking a threat if Release was indeed in the area.

"Rattrap." Black Arachnia started. "Please shut up."

"Please?" Rattrap and Dinobot cast a curious glance towards their female companion.

"I've got a headache all right." Black Arachnia snapped as she shifted uncomfortably. "That and this place is starting to give me the creeps."

"Well I'm with you there Legs." Rattrap gave his usual flippant smile as he grabbed a rock and began to climb. "This place is definitely high on the creep-out-meter."

"A bath would be high on your 'creep-out-meter'." Dinobot snapped angrily as he followed, he was in a definitive hurry to get this search over with.

The group climbed silently for another hour before an anxious Black Arachnia spoke up.

"Where is this thing supposed to be anyway?" She looked to either side of her and could only see snow. "And how are we supposed to see it in all of this SNOW!" She shouted loudly.

Seconds later a light rumble from above told the Maximals that they had a rather fast approaching problem. Dinobot quickly tossed his comrades his spare blades and used his two favorite katanas to dig into the mountain side.

"OH MAN!" Rattrap gasped as a wall of white approached them. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT LEGS!"

"SHUT UP RATTRAP!" Dinobot and Black Arachnia shouted at Rattrap as the wall engulfed them and drug them into what seemed to be an eternity of white.

Minutes later the entire team woke up at the base of the mountain. The small village that had helped them was devastated by the avalanche, thankfully though no one was hurt. The three Maximals looked up the mountain and then back to the village. They knew what they had to do and they quickly went to help the villagers. Unfortunately Black Arachnia's bad day was about to end in an iffy manner as she tripped and fell face first into a hard object in the snow and then sunk into the drift it was in.

"You okay Legs?" Rattrap asked as he pulled him self out of a small drift. "Yo, Legs…" Rattrap asked with a slight edge of concern, but when no answer came he let it be known. "Choppaface, Legs needs help!"

"No I don't." Black Arachnia said as she surface out of the drift like Godzilla did in his movies. "I found the pod." She gave a half-cocky smile.

"That still does not excuse what your impatience has done to these people." Dinobot snarled as he marched through the snow and looked into the drift to see the pod, still active and perfectly fine. "Take it to the drop zone and stay there. Know that Optimus will hear of your foolhardy actions."

Black Arachnia didn't even argue as she cast a guilty glance around the village. "I know." It was all she said as she dug out the pod.

"Rattrap their pandas have been injured and a rather large mother panda went off after her baby." Dinobot said as he turned from Black Arachnia. "We need to find both of them."

"That's it?" Rattrap looked at the devastated village in confusion. "They got houses they need rebuilt and…"

Dinobot held up his hand. "They can fix that, but they can't spare the people to find the pandas."

"Why do they even have pandas?" Rattrap asked as he sighed and walked off with Dinobot. "This is no where near where they live!"

"They're trying to help the population." Dinobot said as he walked into the forest.

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**A**s Black Arachnia pulled the pod into the small clearing where the pilots from G.I. Joe where supposed to meet them in a few days she began to look back on her actions of the day. Not only had she caused an avalanche that nearly destroyed the village, but she had been completely off on everything. It was like a strange force was clouding her thoughts and judgments but she could not figure out what was causing it.

"Boy you look good." She laughed at the dinged up pod, for something so fragile it had endured a great trial and that gave her a good feeling about the Maximal it would make. "Do you ever wonder if your life's complete? Of course you don't, you're not even active, but I tell ya, when you are active you are going to question everything." She gave a weak sigh. "What the heck are doing here anyway?"

A few silent hours later the sky was orange as the sun set and the clearing was alight with the beautiful orange color and Black Arachnia was getting bored waiting for her friends.

"Dinobot are you guys close to finding that blasted duotone ursine yet?" She scoffed into her communicator and received a response of silence. "Guys?" Nothing. "Guys this isn't funny." She said angrily.

"Great, they're out of range or slagged." She growled to herself, "Looks like I'm going to have to risk leaving you to help those idiot males. Primus, I hope you come out a fem-bot, if only so you're not a complete machismo idiot."

Seconds later Dinobot's slightly mangled form was tossed out of the forest to the foot of the pod.

"What the heck?" Black Arachnia ran to her friend.

"Release…" Dinobot pulled himself to his feet and held his chest. "Rattrap is still fighting him."

"STUPID RODENT!" Release's booming voice shot through the trees as Rattrap came crashing into view and landed directly on the pod.

"Oh no…" Black Arachnia gasped in fear. "It might be damaged."

"Can we save it?" Dinobot winced as he tried to move. "What do we need?"

"I'm all right…" Rattrap pulled himself up fell back down once more; he was completely ignored though, much to his chagrin.

"A DNA source for one, and time." Black Arachnia said.

"No time like the present…" Release levitated out of the forest with a strange field of energy around him that disintegrated everything it touched. "Of course your present is shrinking very quickly…" Release set himself down and fashioned a fireball in the middle of his hand that began to grow slowly. "I'd say you have until this gets to a meter in diameter to activate it, then you're, well I'd say toast, but metal melts." He glanced at Black Arachnia who was giving him a confused look. "I'd start working fast if you want a chance.

"Great…" Black Arachnia growled under her breath. "Working under stress I can handle, but this lunatic thinks it some sort of game or something."

"Times up!" Release cackled.

Black Arachnia looked up to see a large fireball in Release's hands. "You're an asshole you know that, right?"

Release smiled as he pulled back his arm and he was about to throw it when a small form came to him and licked his leg. It was the baby panda that Dinobot and Rattrap had been searching for. Release tried to shake the baby off his leg, but in the end had to dim his fireball to remove the baby by force, which he tossed off into the plains with a strange application of non-lethal force. The baby panda's body was slightly glowing as the sun finally sunk behind the horizon.

"No where were we?" Release reignited the giant fireball, but was quickly distracted by an angry growl from behind him and then a strong force plowed him into a tree.

"What was that?" Black Arachnia asked as she stopped punching at the console on the pod.

"A very angry mother…" Dinobot grinned. "Scan now!"

"Okay!" Black Arachnia snapped her head back to the console and finished the activation sequence. "Stand back!"

"_DNA SCAN SEQUENCE ACTIVATED." _An electronic voice announced as a small device popped out and shot a blue light out that revolved around the area and illuminated the scene before the Maximals. Release's head was split open, but quickly mending itself as the angry mother bear sniffed at his body. When the light finished passing over the panda the scan stopped. "_SUITABLE DNA SEQUENCE FOUND. INITIATING…"_ The voice died out as the protoform inside began to glow. Seconds later the lid of the stasis pod flew open panda came crawling out.

"Oh goody…" Release was back up, but his head was still bleeding, the mother panda though was no where to be seen. "I get another one to destroy."

"Think again." The panda growled. "PANDORA MAXIMIZE!" The panda stood on its hind legs and transformed into its robot form. Pandora, as she called herself, was a fem-bot about six feet tall with stocky frame and panda color motif, her head was outlined by a black metal casing that resembled a bun hair-do while her face was grey and smooth. In her hands she held to large projectile weapons that resembled magnums, but were twice the size. "You like big guns? I like big guns."

With that said and a wicked grin given she fired at Release who managed to deflect one blast of energy, but was struck in the chest by the other. However, much to her surprise the blast only left a surface wound that barely bled.

"That hurt…" Release growled with a tone of pure rage tainting his voice. A yellow sheen covered his eyes as the air around the Maximals became charged with energy. A second later the ground beneath them exploded upwards and the world went white once more.

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**"C**ome on! Wake up!" A slap woke Black Arachnia up. All she was able to remember was the white light and Release's angry eyes, but when her vision focused she remembered that they had activated the pod. "Ohhh… Thanks…"

"Not a problem." Pandora pulled Black Arachnia up and promptly pulled her close and gave Black Arachnia the biggest surprise of her life; a passionate kiss.

"What are you doing?" Black Arachnia shouted as she pushed the other fem-bot off her.

"Getting the spoils of war." Pandora smiled mischievously.

"I have a man." Black Arachnia glared at the presumptuous Pandora.

"Man?" Pandora asked in confusion. "Who needs men? They're the most useless thing in existence." She turned and pointed to the offline forms of Dinobot and Rattrap.

"Oh no…" Black Arachnia gasped. "Ok that's it, we are out of here." Black Arachnia reached behind her and pulled a small satellite fixture out and set it on the ground. Then she pressed a button and a blue light extended around the group. Then they were gone.

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**"S**he used the emergency Mass Device signal?" Optimus blinked.

"To be fair, she saved our lives." Dinobot said.

"Speak for yourself…" Rattrap grumbled. "Every time I go through that thing I end up with missing body parts."

"Or reconstructed body parts." Waspinator added cheerfully as he pushed a small repair kit with a smile.

"I hope you get crushed by a rock." Rattrap snapped at Waspinator.

"Wazpinator hope Rat-bot come to check up early tomorrow." Waspinator smiled evily as if to express his malicious intent.

"Oh crud…" Rattrap sighed. "Why me?"

"The good news is that everyone's safe." Optimus sighed. "But what happened to Release?"

"Who?" Pandora chose that moment to walk in.

"The human you fired upon." Optimus frowned. "And just so you know, we aren't in a war with humans."

"I kind of figured, but you know he was kinda being dangerous and all." Pandora snapped. "Besides he's toast, has to be after that explosion."

"He caused that explosion." Dinobot growled angrily, his impatience with the new recruit's arrogance was beginning to show. "And he can do much worse."

"How can a dead guy do anything 'worse'?" Pandora put a hand on her hip and gave a cocky smile.

"Pandora, you'd be wise to listen to Dinobot, he's fought Release and tasted a good portion of his power." Optimus stood up. "And he's right to presume Release is alive."

"What?" Pandora gawked in astonishment. "He blew himself up, how much more dead can you get?"

"Why don't you ask him?" Rattrap pointed to the wall behind Pandora.

When Pandora turned she was face to emptiness with the Scion of Death; Wraith. The green specter floated silently with his usual glaring eyes as he moved around the new Maximal, looking at her as if judging a dog at a dog show. His powerful glares and narrowed eyes silenced the mouthy panda-bot and even made her shrink back a bit. Then, as quickly as he had appeared Wraith was gone.

"What was that thing? It felt like he was looking right through me to my spark." Pandora shuddered.

"That was Wraith, the Scion of Death and he probably was looking through to your spark." Optimus said as Wraith once again appeared, this time beside the Maximal leader.

"I was." Wraith said in his usual bored tone. "She'll do well in combat, but I'd get her off her little fixation with Black Arachnia and soon."

"What? Why can't I have B.A?" Pandora asked.

"Many reasons." Wraith said "Mainly because she's got a mate, but also because you've got no clue what love really is and also there's Clotho." Wraith's eyes betrayed an amused smiled. "Clotho will rip you apart if you make another convoluted love triangle in this equally warped universe."

"And Clotho is?" Pandora asked.

"A Lesser-Scion, but a Scion nonetheless." Wraith said. "She also happens to be in charge of romance." Once more Wraith vanished into nothingness.

A confused look passed over Pandora as the rest of Maximals present gave their own little smiles.

"What in the Pit is a Scion?" Pandora shouted.

"We'll explain everything." Optimus smiled. "But just so you know, we have allies who call their base the Pit, so try not to use that term around them."

"I'm so confused…" Pandora shook her head as she sat down.


	6. Princess returns

**interLUDE**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**Disclaimer: I own only Perfection and Wraith.**

**DigitalMan and K2** **are © My close friend.**

**Everything else is copyrighted to their correct owner.**

**Universe: Spliced-Verse (Misfit-Verse, Evil Dead, Mask TMNT Planeteers, Beast Wars, Jurassic** **Park)**

**AN: As an author I like to think my creative rights are limitless, however; I let my emotions rule me when I wrote the last draft of this chapter. I will have a special story commemorating Steve Irwin though, however this chapter is now more appropriate.**

_**Princess returns**_

Pandora, in her beast form, looked lazily around the halls of the Misfit Manor while Rattrap and Dinobot concentrated on a game of poker not to far away. The three Maximals had been asked to keep and eye on the triplets while a new version of the Mass Device was being tested. The Joes didn't want to risk the three maniacs possibly causing any more inter-dimensional havoc than their world already experienced, and no one argued except the triplets. Of course Optimus also took this chance to help Pandora get used to the Misfits.

"Those three are awfully quiet up there…" Rattrap didn't look away from his hand.

"I'm not going." Dinobot sneered at his hand angrily. "You're cheating aren't you?"

"Who, moi?" Rattrap took a faux offense and gave a smile. "Maybe a little."

"Pandora, please check on the triplets…" Dinobot grinned evilly. "And feel free to take your time." Dinobot pulled out one of his wakizashis and jumped from his chair.

"Oh man!" Rattrap yelped as he took off out the back door with Dinobot hot on his trail.

"Those two…" Pandora sighed as she made her way up the stairs. Her beast form was the only way she could move around in the house because her robot form would tear the walls and floor apart, and that was something that was an obvious pain to her as she climbed the steps and arrived at the door to the triplets room and pawed at the door lightly, which almost broke it off it's hinges.

"Whoa!" Brittany jumped back as she opened the door. "Sorry Pandora, we forgot you have to stay in beast form."

"Heh, that's okay, I'm just checking up on you three." Pandora gave the best smile she could. She had an obvious affinity for the three small terrors, but she tried to not let it show. "What are doing anyway?"

"We want Princess Fluffietta Tinkerbell back!" Quinn pouted.

"Huh?" Pandora was obviously confused.

"Our pet." Brittany beamed happily.

"Ok…" Pandora winced at the response. "As long as you don't spawn an army of zombie gerbils or something, I don't care. Now, I'm going back down to get Rat-face and Captain Extinction back inside, so just behave for the next few minutes, ok?"

"Ok!" Daria smiled as she passed the door with a welder's torch.

"I'm serious, no zombies." Pandora glared at Daria.

"Don't worry there won't be any zombies." Daria kept on smiling.

"Ok…" Pandora turned and wobbled down the stairs.

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Five minutes later Daria was putting the finishing touches on a giant metal ring in the middle of the room. The ring itself was uninspiring and bland, but the many glowing crystals around it were flashing brilliantly at an accelerated pace.

"It looks like something out of Stargate." Quinn yawned, "But if gets Princess back, I'll be happy."

"Didn't we promise we wouldn't try and bring her back though?" Brittany asked with a worried look on her face.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Daria said. "We need something that even the Heartless will be afraid of and since everyone else was afraid of Princess, she should do fine."

"Well it would be nice to have her back, but what if she tries to eat Ralph?" Quinn asked, concerned for the health of the bases' baby triceratops.

"She won't." Daria said assuredly. "Now let's start this thing up."

"Ok…" The other two sisters agreed, as their devilish smiles returned.

"Quinn, divert the power!" Daria shouted as he sister flipped a switch down. "Brittany; open up the conductor gel tubes!"

"Done and done!" Brittany said as she flipped several tubes. "What is this stuff anyway?"

"Congealed Chaos Energy." Daria smiled. "You don't want to know what it took to get it."

"Trust us, we don't." Quinn said flatly.

"And now…" Daria watched a small power bar rise. "We engage the interdimensional coordinates and hit that red button."

"When?" Brittany asked.

"NOW!" Daria shouted as all three sisters slammed their hands down onto the button. A few seconds later the room filled with a bright light that soon faded to reveal the familiar form of Princess Fluffietta Tinkerbell. The creature immediately recognized the triplets and in a panic stricken fear it jumped out the nearest window.

"Uh-oh…" Daria said as she and her sisters crept closer to the window. "I forgot about containment."

"We are in so much trouble…" Quinn groaned.

"Well at least it knows who to avoid now." Brittany smiled. Seconds later Princess came diving back through the window with a red imp attached to her tail.

"CHYBEE!" Daria took a rolled up newspaper and bashed the imp on the face. "No!"

"Ushta, usht E!" Chybee snapped as he let go of the tail and vanished into a puff of smoke.

"What did he say?" Daria asked as she turned to her sisters to see that Perfection was standing over them with a smiling Chybee on his right shoulder.

"That roughly translates to 'I'm telling on you!'." Perfection frowned as he watched the cowering interdimensional raptor shake in fear under a near by set of sheets and then leapt out the window again. "I think you three should be waiting downstairs now."

The triplets said nothing as they marched single file down to the living room and sat on the couch pouting in contempt. While they sat there they winced as several green shirts ran across the lawn screaming for their lives with Princess Fluffietta Tinkerbell hot on their trail in her own form of panic as Perfection chased her with a giant bug net and a serious scowl on his face.

"Oh we are in so much trouble." Brittany groaned.

"I said that already." Quinn reminded her sister.

"Yeah, but that was before Perfection got involved…" Brittany said. "Remember what he made Forge do when he fooled around with his Chaos Energy WITH permission."

"Yeah, he made him fix the mistake himself." Daria said. "Oh wait…"

"Yeah…" Brittany mock smiled. "Why'd I listen to you in the first place?"

"Because I'm the smartest!" Daria nodded.

"Are not!" Quinn said angrily

"I am too." Daria smiled.

"You are not!" Brittany sneered.

It wasn't soon after this conversation branched off into the triplets shouting and tossing furniture at each other, this happened just as Pandora came in from outside.

"Will you guys quiet down in there?" Pandora shouted while in her bear form, then she noticed the furniture and and the fact that Daria had Quinn in a half nelson. "What in Primus is going on here?"

"We made a machine to bring back Princess Fluffieta Tinkerbell, and now everythings gone wrong and Daria's taking all the credit and… and…" Brittany started shouting all at once with tears flooding her eyes.

"Whoa, short stuff, calm down…" Pandora sat down and pulled the young mutant girl to her. "Start slowly and then work your way up." And so Brittany did just that, although she had to stop to blow her nose a few times and afterwards the three of them were surprised to see Pandora smiling. "Oh man, you guys are too much." Pandora was now on her back with the triplets setting on her stomach.

"Everybody says that…" Brittany sniffled.

"Ever thought about toning the energy level down a bit?" Pandora half suggested.

"We just wanted to help." Daria sniffled too. "I'm sorry I made you cry Brittany."

"Me too." Quinn wiped a tear from her eyes.

"All right you little terrors, time for bed." Pandora rolled back to her feet as the three trouble magnets crawled off her. "Come on."

"But Princess…" Daria started.

"Don't worry, I'll handle that." Pandora said.

"But Perfection's mad at us." Quinn said.

"Well, you'll have to deal with that, but I'll get the dinosaur and see if we can't have that lunatic X-Man send it back." Pandora grumbled. "I hear he's a real hoot."

"Forge is nice." The triplets said in unison, Daria continues however; "When he isn't trying to lock us out of his lab that is." The others nodded in agreement.

"Bed. Now." Pandora chuckled as she nudged the three towards the stairs.

When she was sure they were upstairs the panda-bot decided to curl up near the couch and catch a few hours of sleep, but there was a problem in the form of a green floating ghost. Wraith was hovering close to the couch and his eyes gave life to an amused smile. He simply nodded and then vanished.

"Man that guy is bizarre." Pandora snorted as she harrumphhed and collapsed near the spot where the Scion had previously been floating.


	7. Playball!

**interLUDE**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**Disclaimer: I own only Perfection and Wraith.**

**DigitalMan and K2 are © My close friend.**

**Everything else is copyrighted to their correct owner.**

**Universe: Spliced-Verse (Misfit-Verse, Evil Dead, Mask TMNT Planeteers, Beast Wars, Jurassic Park)**

_**Playball!**_

"WHAT…" Rattrap screeched as the Maximal base shook from the onslaught of Megatron and the Predacons, "…ARE THEY THINKING?"

"What else, they want the protoform." Optimus said as he activated a series of autocannons.

"This is getting aggravating!" Dinobot snarled as he watched the outside from a camera station, "We cannot continue to act on the defensive."

"Well, untill we we get permission to activate the other protoform from Joes, we're stuck on the defensive." Rhinox grunted as he lightly pushed Dinobot back and sat at the console seat and activated a remote turret and opened fire on the closest Predacon, who happened to be Tohka.

"Don't forget to slag Scorponok." Dinobot said while watching over Rhinox's shoulder.

"You wanna help or back seat slag?" Rhinox asked as he activated another remote turret station right next to him. The device folded out of the floor with the standard manual turret look as Rhinox's.

"Ohhh…" Dinobot immediately jumped in the seat and began firing. "Quickstrike's on your right."

"You got Rahzar on yours." Rhinox said as the two began to push the Predacons back beyond the reach of the turrets and auto cannons.

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"This is not going how I planned, no it is not." Megatron growled as he paced behind a sand dune that concealed the entirety of the Predacon forces from the Maximal autocannons.

"It's like they got some sort of ultimately powered German engineering in there…" Terrorsoar joked.

"Normally I would say that power would be no match for the royalty, but I must agree; German engineering is most powerful." Inferno said with a serious tone, completely oblivious to Terrorsoar's joke.

"Stupid Maxis…" Quickstrike picked up a rock with his snakehead arm and chucked it at an auto cannon. "If'n life were baseball game we'd have'm whipped no pro'lm."

"You know you haven't shut up about…" Terrorsaur thought carefully about his next insult, "Well damn near ANY sport since I meet you."

"Well I can't help it if them humans make some interestin' sports!" Quickstrike shot back.

"Baseball…" Megatron gave a devious grin. "I think I have an idea…"

"Does it involve slaggin' the Maxi's?" Quickstrike turned to Megatron.

"May I hit him please, Megatron?" Terrorsoar asked with a groan.

"You may." Megatron said as smiled.

Terrorsoar wasted no time and hit Quickstrike over the head hard enough to send him flying into the range of the turrets, unfortunately for him he had no recovery time and was sent flying to pieces.

"Thanks Primus, I just couldn't stand another of his stupid ideas…" Venus huffed a sigh a relief.

"Well as stupid as that idea is, I think I know of a way to manipulate it…" Megatron smiled.

"Huh?" The rest of the Predacons all asked in a confused unison.

"Well, first we need Quickstrike operational." Megatron grinned, "And then we need to strike the nerve of a very insane being."

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An hour later the Maximals were watching their security monitors carefully. Rhinox and Dinobot were activly scanning the grounds for any signs of the Predacons, which had not retreated back to their base while Tigatron and Rattrap scanned other less interesting areas and that's when Rattrap spotted something he couldn't believe.

"What in the blazing firey short of Prime are they doin'?" Rattrap shouted, and soon the others had gathered around.

"It looks like they're spreading chalk on the ground…" Silverbolt looked confused.

"Are they making a baseball diamond?" Rattrap asked.

"I think so…" Cheetor blinked.

"You're joking right?" Rhinox asked from his turret seat.

"I wish they were…" Optimus was staring at the screen, completely slack jawed.

"I'm too confused to even make a legitimate joke." Black Arachnia blinked in awe.

Just then one of Tarantulus' drones leapt in onto one of the cameras and interrupted the feed. The new feed was of Megatron wearing a baseball cap.

"Greetings Maximals." Megatron was smiling. "We seem to be at a bit of an impasse, we both want what you have and unfortunately neither of us will be able to keep it for more than a few days if we keep taking it by force. So, I, in my infinite wisdom have devised a foolproof plan to decide the fate of the Stasis Pod. A game of the human sport of Baseball, adjusted of course to the cybertronian version, however; I would completely understand if you just surrender the pod. After all, you don't stand a chance against our team."

"Is he baiting us?" Silverbolt blinked.

"No…" Perfection suddenly appeared in the feed. "He's baiting me, and you gotta admit it's kinda cute."

"What the?" Megatron immediately noticed Perfection. "Are you actually IN the video feed?"

"Indeeders I am Megatron, indeeders I am." Perfection smiled. "Now, while I'm not dumb enough to fall for such an obvious ploy, I have to admit this idea has merit and with a Scionic Clad Contract to back it up, I'd be willing to find a neutral party to call the game, as well as announce it myself."

"Well then…" Megatron spoke into the feed once more. "Do we have a deal Optimus, or should we just start back with the attacking each other like mad-bots?"

"I think he's finally lost it." Rattrap snickered, "But I say we do it!"

"What?" Cheetor yelped.

"You can't be serious." Silverbolt gasped.

"He is." Black Arachnia and Dinobot said at the same time.

"And he's right." Optimus said, which caused everyone to turn towards him. "It's our best shot, and having the Scions protect the pod is a chance we can't pass up."

"All right!" Perfection leapt out of the monitor and into the Maximal base. "Get your bats and gloves ladies and germs, WE ARE PLAYING BALL!"

"Here are the rules." DM walked onto the baseball diamond and pulled a microphone from nowhere. "Each team will consist of eleven players including a player coach, bats may consist of whatever the players wish to use so long as they are not projectile weapons of any sort, players may apply any skills they have to pitching and batting so long as the team has earned this…" DM held up a tiny glowing dot. "We call this a skill point, and much like Mario's baseball they are obtained on successful plays and strike outs. Using a talent will cost a skill point and each team starts with three points. All other rules are listed here." DM dropped a gigantic ten ton book onto the diamond. "Any questions?"

"Uh…" Quickstrike just looked on in fear as the gigantic book tipped over and squashed him.

"All right, good." DM dusted his hands off. "When the teams are made and bats have been selected then we will get started."

"Ok everyone, get your bats." Optimus sighed. "Airazor, you sit this out with Tigerhawk."

"I planned on it." Airazor smiled.

"I got my bat!" Rattrap smiled as he held up his tail. "It's all purpose."

"As I have mine." Silverbolt held up one of his feathers.

"I think I'll use this…" Black Arachnia smiled as she formed a latent psychic bat in her claws.

"Wazpinator use one of rat-bots old stinger parts!" Waspinator smiled.

"I guess I'm stuck with my own tail too." Depth Charge groaned as he appeared in a flash of light. "The ghost explained it to me."

"I'll use this." Pandora came out holding a small dead tree.

Rhinox, Cheetor and Tigatron all took standard bats supplied by DM while Dinobot had gone missing.

"Hey, boss they're missin' a guy!" Quickstrike was quick to notice Dinobot's absense." Does that mean we win?"

"Only a fool assumes victory on such a presumption." Dinobot smiled as he appeared with his bat strapped to his back. It was a recreation of the warhammer he had made to save the humans when he had his first death. He pulled it off his back and held it over his shoulder. "Brings back memories, doesn't it Megatron? " He let a superior look linger on Megatron's chest.

"Don't think that will save you the next time we meet in combat." Megatron growled, but Dinobot simply smiled and walked to the Maximal dugout.

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"Welcome to the first, and possibly last, Maximal versus Predacon Baseball match of the year!" Perfection had fabricated an announcers tower and was sitting in it with a clone in a hawaiian shirt and sandals while he was in a suit and tie. "The Predacons won the coin toss and they've chosen to pitch first. With Tarantulus catching and Quickstrike pitching this could be an annoying inning for the Maximals. Speaking of, the first Maximal up to bat is… WASPINATOR?" Both Perfection's nearly fell out of their chairs. "Oh man, I hope Optimus Primal knows what he's doing, because the fate of an undecided Protoform now hangs in the midst!

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**Will the Maximals be able to beat the Predacons? Will Perfection get on his own nerves and does cheese make a good substitute for salsa? Stay tuned to find out!**


	8. Inning ONE and the last one ever played

**interLUDE: Maximals at Play**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**Disclaimer: I own only Perfection and Wraith.**

**DigitalMan and K2 are © My close friend.**

**Everything else is copyrighted to their correct owner.**

**Universe: Spliced-Verse (Misfit-Verse, Evil Dead, Mask TMNT Planeteers, Beast Wars, Jurassic Park)**

**_Inning ONE and the last one ever played by Cybertronians..._**

"Waspinator's up?" Rattrap shrieked in fear. "Oh man we are so gonna loose." Then he saw Tarantulus take the mound and bitterly added, "Possibly slagged."

Up on the mound Tarantulus, who had insisted on pitching over Quickstrike, was preparing to throw what he was sure would be the first of three strikes and he wasn't afraid to hide it. His usual sick laugh accompanied a crude taunt of, "I hope you can at least see it before it crosses the plate."

"Wazpinator will zee it juz fine…" Waspinator smiled.

Tarantulus chucked the ball then, a blistering fastball came of the Predacon's throw. DM's radar clocked the throw at nearly four hundred miles per hours. The pitch would eventually turn out to be the fastest pitch of the entire game, so it naturally surprised everyone when Waspinator's Sting-bat cracked the ball straight towards center field. The pure kinetic energy of the ball caused it to vaproize over the homerun zone. The sheer surprise of Waspinator's homerun caused all the Predacon's to drop their jaws in shock as the small bug-bot pranced from first base all the way back around to home. After which Megatron called a time out almost immediately.

"You were saying Rattrap?" Optimus raised an eyebrow with a confident smile.

"I was saying…" Rattrap corrected himself. "We are so gonna win this!"

Over at the Predacon dugout though things were quite different…

"WHERE DID HE PULL THAT OUT OF?" Megatron roared.

"Maybe he's jus' a natural, like Robbie Redford and his manly manness." Quickstrike said with his usual edge of ignorance combined with a completely serious manner.

"Someone please shut him up." Megatron sighed as Rapticon spun the small fuzor around and quickly welded Quickstrike's mouth shut. "Ah, thank you Rapticon."

"I would have prefered to slag him, but he's needed…" Rapticon gave a cruel smile and then added, "For now at least."

"Well at least we know Rhinox won't have a chance in the Pit to hit the ball." Tarantulus grumbled as the entire Predacon team took back to the field.

"Yes, I know because if he does the team will have a brand new shining set of Spider-Leg-Bats." Megatron growled.

The teams then took their places and Rhinox stepped up to the mound wearing, of all things a White Sox baseball cap.

"What is this?" Tarantulus screamed. "Is everyone on that team a Baseball fanatic?"

"No." Silverbolt raised his hand from the side lines, "I'm a rugby fanatic."

"Oh just lovely…" Tarantulus groaned as he slouched forward and finally pulled himself back up.

"Just throw the slaggin' ball already." Rhinox smiled.

"All righty, here it comes tubby." Tarantulus launched the ball and it zoomed past Rhinox with in a second. "Ha!" Tarantulus made a small celebratory dance on the mound.

"Is he having an attack of some sort?" Rhinox asked Quickstrike who was standing behind him acting as the catcher.

"I… I don't right know…" Quickstrike looked on in confusion.

"I'm dancing!" Tarantulus shouted as he launched another pitch that zoomed by the Maximal. "Ha got you again!"

The next pitch came just as fast and with as little warning as there could have been. Still Rhinox slammed his bat into the ball so hard it reached into the stratosphere and crashed into a Latverian war satellite that launched a death beam down at the diamond.

"NO! NO! NO!" Tarantulus screamed as the field blew up around him. "NO, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A STRIKE!"

"Well it looks like this game's going to be called on account of not having a field anymore." The Relaxed-Perfection-Announcer said.

"You know someone really should do something about Latveria's extensive war satellites." The Uptihght-Perfection-Announcer said.

"Someone just did." The other responded.

"Well now it looks like we're going to have to settle this the old fashioned way, yeeeesss…" Megatron smiled as his entire team came out of the dugout, where they had hidden during the destruction. "Now where is that stasis pod?"

"Megatron." Rapticon pointed to what used to be the pitcher's mound where the pod was buried.

"Rather intelligent place to hide it." Megatron admitted.

"_DNA sequence corrupted." _The electronic voice said from the mound. _"Scanning again." _The scanner from the pod popped out almost immediately and scanned the surrounding area. _"No suitable DNA sequences located. Returning to Stasis mode. Warning Stasis Mode damaged DNA sequence must be located in the next two cycles or protoform will reach critical damage."_

"NO!" Megatron roared. "We'll have to redouble our efforts at getting the others if this one is destroyed."

"Forget about your efforts." Dinobot snarled from the Maximal side. "Our comrade's life hangs in the balance..."

Suddenly the stasis pod whirred to life. _"Commencing secondary scan." _This time a green beam emmited from the pod and this light was visibly scanning the Maximals and Predacons.

"Oh no…" Optimus recognized the beam. "He's reformmating a current form."

"He?" Rattrap realized something was wrong. "What do you mean he? Isn't that something that's normally decided after the scan?"

"Rattrap, that green scanner means he's a surviving Autobot from the Great War." Optimus said.

"Well then there is definitely no need for me to attempt to take it anylonger." Megatron growled.

"_Suitable DNA sequence located. Rebooting." _A few seconds later the pod popped open with a hiss and a cold steel like hand pulled the bot forward into full view of the Predacons and Maximals.

"It, it can't be." Cheetro blinked.

"I don't believe it." Black Arachnia stared in awe.

"He kept function over form, impressive." Dinobot smiled.

"General Grimlock." Optimus said. "You were with us?"

The bot that stood before them was on of the very first non-cybertronina transformers. He did not require energon and as such was not subject to it's damaging effects. His form was almost unchanged, but he was most definitely a Transmetal 2 Tyrannosaurus. He hefted his dual barreled blaster with ease.

"Where are others?" Grimlock growled. "Science team supposed to give us new home."

"General Grimlock I regret to inform you…" Optimus started, but Megatron interrupted.

"He failed, mostly in part because of me, and I am so proud to say that." Megatron gloated.

"Megatron?" Grimlock looked at Megatron in confusion. "Noooo… You puny second generation Megatron."

"What?" Megatron growled in anger, his subordinates all trying to hide their laughter.

"Puny second generation Megatron stop Science Team, where we at?" Grimlock asked.

"You guys go away now." Perfection smiled. "Game was called, Maximals had a point."

"But…" Megatron's objection was cut off by the Scion teleporting the ego-maniacal robot back to the Predacon base.

"Who the funny human?" Grimlock asked.

"I'm not a human." Perfection said as he sat in the air next to Optimus. "I'm the Scion of Chaos, and you've got a LOT of catching up to do."

"Should we start at the beginning or from 'Dance Dance Feva!'?" DM popped in with a floppy disk.

"Let's go with Dance Dance Feva!" Perfection struck a disco pose.

"This really is gonna take a while isn't it?" Rattrap asked.

"Yes." Optimus sighed, "Everyone, take some time for R&R while the Scions and I explain what's happened to the General."

"Grimlock not General anymore." Grimlock crossed his arms angrily. "Grimlock and other dinobots resign to find own home… again."

"This is going to be a long day…" Optimus sighed.


	9. Settling in with a traitor?

**interLUDE**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**Disclaimer: I own only Perfection and Wraith.**

**DigitalMan and K2 are © My close friend.**

**Everything else is copyrighted to their correct owner.**

**Universe: Spliced-Verse (Misfit-Verse, Evil Dead, Mask TMNT Planeteers, Beast Wars, Jurassic Park)**

**_Settling in with a traitor?_**

"Grimlock not like this detail…" Grimlock muttered as he served up block of Energon to Rhinox.

"Relax tin-grin, at least you get to hold the best for yourself." Rattrap smiled as he scooped a few cubes into his mouth.

"Grimlock miss not having to eat." Grimlock sighed.

"Aw, come on." Rattrap tried to give Grimlock a few blocks.

"Grimlock miss his friends." Grimlock moaned.

"By Primus don't you go emo on me." Rattrap snapped.

"Hey Ratty." Pandora smiled as she came up to the small preparation area that the Maximals called their kitchen. "What's good today?"

"Grimlock make special cube dish." Grimlock pointed to a pile of oddly cut polygons that were anything but cubes. "Grimlock learning."

"Grimlock sucks." Pandora said as she picked up a few of the machine processed Energon cubes.

"Hey…" Grimlock sounded hurt. "Panda-bot need to keep mouth shut or Grimlock gonna show here how he beat original Megatron."

A buzzing laugh told Pandora that Waspinator had heard the comeback and was enjoying the show, so she did what she felt was best and slammed he launch tray over Waspinator's head sending him into dreamland.

"Whoa hey!" Rattrap jumped on the large panda-bot and held her down as best he could. "Leave stinger-butt alone, he was jus' laughin'!"

"Yeah he was laughing at me!" Pandora growled. Suddenly she felt herself lift off the ground and looked over her shoulder to see Grimlock lifting her effortlessly in the air. "Hey put me down!"

"Nope, you go talk with Optimus, he tell you what you do to make it all right." Grimlock snarled as he walked out of the small kitchen with Pandora in hand.

"Oh my…" Dinobot smiled as he moed out of the way of Grimlock and the wriggling Pandora. "What did you do this time Pandora?"

"Nothing!" Pandora was flailing around madly.

"Hey Choppa-butt, help me take buzz-fer-brains to the med-bay." Rattrap sighed as he struggled to pull the unconscious Waspinator.

"Again?" Dinobot rolled his eyes. "From being blown up to flattened at every turn…"

"Yeah, well it doesn't help dat Pendora has got da tempa of a nest of rabid raccoons." Rattrap chuckled

As Dinobot and Rattrap drug Waspinator into the med bay they were surprised by two things. One they had guests, Misfits and X-Men. Secondly there was a new Maximal sitting on the table. Thirdly there was a large cannon next to the maximal. He wasn't to tall, only slightly smaller than Rattrap, with a head similar Silverbolt's except there were not points, just rounded surfaces. He had a slight "burglar's mask" over his eyes as brown fur lined his body.

"Hi." The Maximal waved, he had a very child-like voice. "I'm Sly."

"He chose his own name as usual." Xavier sighed. "I just don't know how usual it is for a Maximal to play a video game for hours on end before choosing a name."

"I'm almost afraid ta ask, but what video game?" Rattrap asked.

"Sly Cooper and the Theivious Racconus!" Sly shouted.

"Cheetor's going to be disappointed, he won't be the second youngest one here anymore." Dinobot grinned, but a gleefully screaming Cheetor raced by after hearing the good news.

"Umm…" Sly raised his hand.

"Yes Sly." Rattrap said sarcastically, "Do you have a question?"

"Yeah." Sly nodded. "Where's Trinity and Spyder, they promised me a game of tag."

"One second…" Rattrap turned back to watch the door with Dinobot. "Twenty says Pandora's with'em."

"Forty says they've already got him half done." Dinobot smiled.

"You're on." Rattrap said.

"What's going on?" Sly asked.

"Sssh." Rattrap motioned for Sly to be quiet.

A few seconds later Cheetor came screaming back down the hall half covered in pink hair rollers and nail polish. Trinity were chasing after him and not far behind them was Pandora with Spyder riding on her back.

"GET THEM AWAY FROM MEEEEEE!" Cheetor screeched as he ran down the halls.

"Ahhh, the joys of childhood." Rattrap sighed reminiscently as he handed a few golden cards over to Dinobot. "It was worth it just to see that."

"Why was he running away and screaming?" Sly asked.

"Trinity." The entire room echoed.

"But Trinity's nice." Sly said with a confused look.

"Well they were the ones who found him." Hawk said.

"Where?" Rattrap asked.

"Freddy went to visit some relatives and they found him there." Hawk explained with a wince.

"Which relatives?" Dinobot asked although he really did not want to know the answer.

"The circus performers he left." Hawk winced.

"So Sly was in a circus?" Rattrap chuckled.

"No, he was following them and stealing their food." Hawk explained further. "And no one believed them when they claimed it was a giant raccoon staling their food, except Freddy."

"And Toad." Sly offered.

"Oh, but of course." Dinobot gave a half snarl-chuckle.

"Oh, Dinobot, Rina is outside if you want to talk with her." Xavier snapped to attention. "And please tell her to stop directing her thoughts of strangling Toad towards me." Dinobot merely chuckled as he left.

"So, yer a raccoon." Rattrap said. "Well when Doc. Sting-butt gets up we'll get you all checked up ok kiddo."

"Sounds good." Sly looked around. "Why do I have a big gun?"

"You gotta be kiddin' me." Rattrap looked at his human friends. "You guys didn't tell him?"

"Given his mental age we thought it best one of you explains it." Xavier explained. "Optimus was supposed to do that after reprimanding Pandora but I get the feeling he's a bit pre-occupied."

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And indeed Optimus was pre occupied and with a very serious matter.

"Are you sure about this Rhinox?" Optimus asked.

"No doubt about it." Rhinox sighed some one's been sending encrypted messages to the Predacon base and it only started after the baseball game."

"That was almost a week ago." Optimus sighed. "What information has been leaked?"

"Daily schedules, including patrol and communication logs." Rhinox brought up a screen. "There's a problem though."

"You mean besides the fact that we might have a spy or an infestation of bugs?" Optimus asked darkly.

"Our communications are being sent to other coordinates." Rhinox punched up a few of the coordinates on his screen. "F.O.H. Headquarters, Hydra bases and base I can't get a read on."

"Not good." Optimus sighed. "Can we track the next few transmissions?"

"Yeah, but we'll need to let them pass to figure out whose sending them." Rhinox said.

"Do it." Optimus said.

"False information or not?" Rhinox asked.

"We can't let the leak catch on…" Optimus said. "I'll let Dinobot, Rattrap, Silverbolt, Cheetor and Depth Charge know."

"Why not the others, it's probably one of Tarantulas' spy bugs." Rhinox said.

"I don't doubt it, but we can't take the risk, some of those transmissions were highly classified." Optimus said.

"Understood." Rhinox nodded with a depressed sigh. "I'll keep an eye out for odd behavior."

"Thanks old friend." Optimus sighed, "Now if you'll excuse me I have to tell a young bot that we're in the middle of a war."

"Good luck." Rhinox sighed yet again. "What a time to come online."

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"So…" Sly had finished talking with Optimus and was sitting on a canyon, both were watching the sunset.

"Yes." Optimus said, "I don't expect you to fight if you feel you can't handle it, but you will need to contribute in some way."

"It's not that." Sly said, "I kind of expected to have to fight."

"Then what's wrong?" Optimus asked.

"Why do they want to hurt humans?" Sly asked.

"Because they're angry and the humans can't fight back." Optimus said. "As for Magneto and his mutants, they want to rule the world."

"And those things…" Sly asked.

"The Heartless?" Optimus asked. "It's just what they do."

Sly looked like some had just told him everyone he knew and cared for was dead. "W-why?"

"I don't know." Optimus said. "But we have to help our friends, and they have promised to help us."

"I won't let them hurt my friends." Sly said. "I'll do whatever it takes."

"I'm glad to hear that." Optimus said, but he did not look happy and Sly saw it.

"No you aren't." Sly said. "It's because I don't know how to fight, right?"

"No…" Optimus said, "I just don't want you to become to obsessed with fighting."

"I just want to protect my friends." Sly sighed.

"I know, and when you're ready, you'll be able to." Optimus said with a real smile.

"So who's going to teach me?" Sly asked. "Maybe Dinobot he looks like a great fighter and Rina was talking about how he's teaching her…"

"Ahhh…" Optimus waved his hands in denial. "I think maybe Silverbolt or one of the others would be best. Maybe even Rattrap."

"Rattrap?" Sly gave a disgusted look. ""But he smells like cheese."

"Hey…" Perfection appeared. "Don't rag on the cheese it's sacred kiddo."

"Uh…Ok…" Sly was absolutely terrified.

"Cute kid." Perfection winked and then vanished.

"Who was that weirdo?" Sly asked.

"That was Perfection." Optimus sighed. "And no you won't get used to him."

"Why does he do that?" Sly asked as he and Optimus began to walk back to the base.

"Because he can." Optimus sighed.

"Is that the only reason?" Sly asked.

"Yeah pretty much." Optimus said.

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From a window in the base Cheetor watched as Optimus and Sly came walking back in. A frown adorned his furred face and he carried himself with a sense of anger.

"What's the matter tabby?" Black Arachnia asked as he pushed past her angrily.

"Nothing." Cheetor snarled.

Then Black Arachnia spotted Optimus helping Sly up a large incline. "Ah, jealous?"

"Why should I be jealous, Sly's a good kid and he needs a mentor." Cheetor growled.

"So I guess the fact that Optimus has taken a shine to him like he took to you has nothing to do with it." Black Arachnia smirked.

"Don't go there." Cheetor growled, a feral tone accompanied his angered voice. After a few seconds of surprised silence Cheetor left in a huff of anger.

"What got into your litter box tabby?" Black Arachnia wondered aloud.


	10. A Traitor Revealed

**interLUDE**

**By THE Xenomorph**

**Disclaimer: I own only Perfection and Wraith.**

**DigitalMan and K2 are © My close friend.**

**Everything else is copyrighted to their correct owner.**

**Universe: Spliced-Verse (Misfit-Verse, Evil Dead, Mask TMNT Planeteers, Beast Wars, Jurassic Park)**

_**A Traitor Revealed**_

A few days later after Sly had begun to settle into his new home, he was walking the halls quietly observing how things operated in the Maximal base. He had originally planned on asking Cheetor if the cat-bot could help him learn how to shoot straight, but he couldn't find him anywhere so he decided to ask Pandora as she was a newer bot like himself. He crept up to her quarters with a purposeful stealth, as he had observed the panda-bot liked her privacy. He was about to knock on the door when he heard her talking to someone.

"Are you sure they're monitoring us?" Pandora asked.

"Pandora my dear, I don't think. I _know._" The response came, the voice sounded sloppy and excited all at once. "It looks like you'll have to make a run for it soon."

"Great, I don't even have half the info we need." Pandora snapped. "I can't believe we've been stranded this far away from the Tri-Predicus Council."

"Private, we aren't any distance away from them, we're completely removed from our own reality." The voice seemed to be chiding her.

"I know Lieutenant…" At that moment Sly slipped forward and knocked into the door. "Someone's outside."

"They've probably heard to much, eliminate them." The voice said as the door swung open and Pandora pulled Sly inside and the shut the door again.

"It's just the new kid, not even battle ready." Pandora picked sly up by the neck joints. "Still, he knows…"

"Wait!" Sly saw the face on the screen, he recognized the face from a series of briefings, it was a Predacon named Tarantulas. "He might be more useful alive…" Tarantulas chuckled.

"Yeah…" Pandora's eyes gleamed with a sinister smile. "Baits always needed when you go fishing.

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Cheetor was running down the hall as the alarms went off sounding an intruder. Soon he heard most of the base clamoring for the main room. As he exploded out into the center of the base he saw Optimus and Rhinox standing over Pandora. At least Optimus was anyway.

"Big-bot what's the alarm about?" Cheetor gasped for air, "Preds in the area?"

"More like one ion our midst." Rhinox snapped as he glared at Pandora.

"What?" Cheetor whipped his head at Pandora. "Tell me he means Waspinator."

"Wazpinator not traitor…" Waspinator snapped from behind Cheetor. "Wazzzpinator loyal."

"Oh trust me, insect brain is loyal." Pandora grinned evily.

"I don't believe this." Rattrap overheard as he entered. "Can't we ever catch a break?"

"Does this mean I can blow her up now?" Silverbolt asked innocently.

"Down Bowser, she wouldn't be touting her loyalties like this unless she had a reason." Black Arachnia lowered herself down from the ceiling behind Optimus. "Or a hostage."

"Your little, 'Dark Passion', has it right." Pandora continued to smile. "Now, all your files on the Scions, pronto."

"Wait, just who would she have as a hostage?" Cheetor scoffed, "It can't be Airazor or T.H., Tigatron would go ballistic, and Dinobot's visiting X-23…"

"So who does…" Rattrap gawked at Pandora as he realized it. "Why you filthy stinkin' pred!"

"What?" Cheetor asked.

Silverbolt too realized what Rattrap had figured out. "You evil witch!"

"WHAT? WHO DID SHE TAKE?" Cheetor screamed.

"Think about it tabby, who here is small, weak and easily captured, besides the rat?" Black Arachnia sneered at Pandora.

"I…" It hit Cheetor like a bag of bricks. "Where's Sly?"

"The cat gets it for a point." Pandora smiled.

"Here…" Rhinox tossed Pandora a disc. "Now give us Sly."

"He's in my room." She pulled out a small triggering device. "With a one minute time and lots of C4." She pressed the button and ran for the exit.

For a split second Cheetor was torn between chasing down a traitor and helping Sly, but he was a Maximal and that only gave him one real option and he tore off in the direction of Pandora's room. He got to the door in under twenty seconds, but it was sealed shut.

"Big-bot, Sly's trapped in there!" Cheetor shouted into his com.

"Tear the door down we can't get there fast enough." Optimus ordered.

"Right." Cheetor dropped to his knees and put his claws under the door and pulled as hard as he could. It took three strong pulls, but Cheetor got the door off it's hinges just in time to see the timer on the bombs surrounding Sly hit the ten second mark. Without hesitation Cheetor flung himself into the room and threw Sly into the hall. He was not, however, fast enough to jump back out of the room and was blown down the hallway. The last conscious thing he heard was the clacking of Waspinator's feet against the metal floor followed by the sensation of several repair nodes being attached to him.

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Cheetor groaned as he came back to consciousness, much to his surprise. He was also surprised by the number of visitors he had. The Turtles, Planeteers and several X-Men and Misfits were all sleeping around in the Med Bay.

"How long have I been offline?" He groaned as he noticed the time displayed across the top of the med bay entrance.

"About a day." Donatello yawned, then quickly popped awake. "He's back guys!" The room immediately filled with the clamor of chairs and people moving.

"You ok man?" Wheeler pipped up.

"I'm fine, how's Sly?" Cheetor asked.

"He's been raving about how you rescued him the whole time. He's got the Triplets and Spyder enthralled by his story." Perfection walked in. "Nice moves by the way."

"Did you know?" Cheetor asked bluntly.

"Can't know everything Spots." Perfection shrugged, "She even caught Wraith off guard."

"Yeah, but now DM's putting in a whole new security system." Brittany bounded in with her sisters. "Now even Predacon spies can't get in." She was frowning, but tried to sound happy.

"I can't believe she lied to us though…" Daria sighed. "She was nice."

"Yeah." Quinn sniffled.

"Yeah, well good riddance." Rattrap snapped.

"Indeed." Silverbolt affirmed.

"Ah, so emotional." Perfection said with a joking smile.

"So what do we do now?" Cheetor asked.

"We do nothing." Optimus' face came on a video link in the room. "You need to recover, the rest of us will repair the base."

"Yeah, but after that?" Cheetor asked.

"Then you're going to start teaching Sly the ropes." Optimus smiled.

"Me?" Cheetor's face snapped to a look of confusion.

"Yeah!" Sly came running in. "I figure I'd better learn from the best."

"The best?" Cheetor looked even more confused.

"Looks like you got a lot on your hands now tabby." Black Arachnia smiled.

"Me…" Cheetor blinked. "Teach?"

"I think boy's brain has broken." Althea snickered.

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Meanwhile at Megatron's base Pandora was busy reporting to her superior of the Tri-Predicus council; Lieutenant Tarantulas.

"Interesting." Tarantulas peered at the information that Pandora had procured.

"Wish I could have gotten some info on the JOEs though…" Pandora growled in disappointment.

"Hm…" Tarantulas ignored Pandora's lamenting and continued to study the information.

"So, does Megs know about what we are?" Pandora asked.

"Yes…" Tarantulas begrudgingly pulled himself away from the information. "In order to survive this world and maintain any hope of completing our given mission I was forced to divulge our origins and swear a temporary loyalty to Megatron."

"But only until we get the others online, right?" Pandora asked.

"Yes." Tarantulas chuckled, "We will have to be vigilant though and make sure that at least one of us appropriates the pods with Megatron's lunatics."

"Yeah, no prob." Pandora smirked. "I got the big guns, won't be any problem."

"And I'm one of the few who can activate the new Fuzor or Transmetal 2 chips." Tarantulas laughed.

"Yeah, you brains me brawn." Pandora chuckled. "We make a great team."

"As we always have my dear." Tarantulas smiled.

"So tell me about this Venus gal…" Pandora smiled.

"Ugh…" Tarantulas groaned. "Do you ever stop thinking with your servos?"

"Not really." Pandora grinned darkly.


End file.
